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Frank Brangwyn:
Study of a pioneer for 'The Home Makers', circa 1912
Unframed (ref: 606)

 Black,white and yellow chalk, lightly squared, 17 x 13 in. (44.5 x 33cm.)

Tags: Frank Brangwyn chalk Highlights of 20/21 Art Fair life drawing work

 Provenance: The Fine Art Society; private collection, Canada

This is a study for the pendentive panel, The Home Makers, in the State Capitol, Jefferson City, Missouri.

The previous state capitol having burnt down,a new one was constructed between 1911 and 1917, based on the design of the Capitol, Washington D.C. Brangwyn was asked to devise a colour scheme and thirteen murals for the new building,including a canvas for the eye of the dome (36 ft in diameter), four pendentives (each 24 ft high, 48 ft wide at the top and 15 ft wide at the base), and eight lower dome panels (approximately 16 ft high and 28 ft wide). The four large pendentives represented 'Missouri in Four Great Historical Periods' and were titled Historic Landing (Laclede Parleying with the Indians), Pioneers, The Home Makers and Builders.

The scale of the works was immense, each figure being about 14 ft high. The initial sketches were of tremendous importance, Brangwyn telling his friend Joseph Simpson that,once he had his sketch and cartoon ready, he could complete the painting of a figure of that size in one day.

We are grateful to Dr Libby Horner for her assistance (Brangwyn's work for the State Capitol,Jefferson City, is no.M1135 in her forthcoming catalogue raisonne).